Indonesia – Shariah Fanatics Howl for Blood

. This guy, Tajul Muluk, on the left, is a leader of the Shia Muslims in Sampang, East Java. A mob of Sunni Muslim savages not long ago burned down Shia homes and a boarding school in his area but HE has since been arrested, charged with ‘offensive actions!’ He’s currently in police custody, under ‘blasphemy’ laws.

The JG reported this week 18/4 that Tajul and various other villagers had fled the mob when the mayhem occurred, but since the infamous MUI (Indonesian Council of ‘Scholars’) declared their teachings ‘deviant,’ their attempts to get back to their homes have been thwarted by bigots who threaten to murder them.

On March 16, the East Java Police charged Tajul with blasphemy, saying he violated Article 156 of the Criminal Code on blasphemy and Article 335 on “offensive actions.”

I’d have thought that those who attacked a small community and committed wholesale arson against them might be rather better candidates for arrest on grounds of ‘offensive actions.’

Tajul is currently being detained at the Sampang prison awaiting trial. His lawyers said they were concerned he would not receive a fair trial in Sampang because of the strong presence of anti-Shiite groups there. They are requesting his trial be moved to the provincial capital Surabaya…

It’s not every day I agree with Amnesty International but when they go back to the basics they once operated on, they can make a lot of sense.

“Amnesty International believes that these charges have been brought against him solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” Amnesty said in a press statement on Wednesday. “He is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally. These blasphemy laws are fundamentally incompatible with Indonesia’s international human rights obligations to protect and respect freedom of expression, and freedom of thought, conscience, religion and equality.”

Indeed, Indonesia serves on the UN Human Rights body!

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Ali the Tolerant Minister

Like the Ahmadiyah, the Shia are a small minority here in Indonesia, and as such it should be the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ job to look out for their well-being and security. But who’s the Minister in charge there? Yes, quite right!

It’s Suryadharma Ali!

And here’s how he chose to help out!

Jakarta Post 27/1 –

=========…Suryadharma, also chairman of the Muslim-oriented United Development Party (PPP), said after a meeting with House of Representatives’ Commission VIII on religion, social affairs and the empowerment of women, that the ministry maintained its stance that the Shiite branch of Islam deviated from the main Islamic teachings.

The minister said that the stance was based on a recommendation issued by a number of outfits including the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), and a decision from the country’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which was issued in the early 1980s.“We will stick to these old decisions that the Shiite branch is not consistent with the main Islamic principles.”

To be fair, Muslims from more rational bodies like the NU and Muhammadiyah dissociated themselves from his bigotry, and even some MUI leaders seemed embarrassed. The man is a menace.

It would be laughable were it not so pathetic and wicked, that in this day and age, a man can be arrested for how he worships God. Oh, yeah, or for how he doesn’t – that poor atheist Alex Aan, up north in Sumatra, has ‘repented’ but still looks likely to face trial.

Gusrizal of MUI, a Vindictive Bigot

Remember him. The MUI in the area is run by a primitive hate-spewer named Gusrizal Gazahar. who said if Alex refused to repent, he should lose his job. “I want him to be fired.”

But even the MUI can be outdone for spittle-flecked outburts.I just ran across this one.

FUI’s Khaththath

The Islamic Society Forum (FUI) said a five-year jail term would not suffice. “He deserves the death penalty, even if he decides to repent. What he has done cannot be tolerated”, FUI secretary general Muhammad al-Khaththath was quoted as saying by AFP on February 2. “It is important to prevent this group from spreading atheism in this country.”